Sindbad against the man eating giant.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Okay. I've summoned three Heroic Spirits so far and it's time for the fourth. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this whole summoning business.
As normal, my instructor is standing a short distance away observing my progress. He’s mainly here to make sure nothing goes wrong with the summoning, and to step in if the worst-case scenario occurs. But enough about that, let’s get started! I perform the summoning as I have done previously and what appears from the circle is-
“……..?”
A man who is wearing a turban and appears to be Indian. But, unlike my previous encounters with Heroic Spirits, this one looks really confused. So, I ask my instructor:
“Instructor, did something go wrong with the summoning? This servant looks really confused.”
My instructor replies with:
“No, nothing went wrong. The summoning was as successful as your previous attemtps.”
Well, that’s a good thing I suppose. But my new servant is still wandering around examining everything and acting as if he doesn’t know what’s going on. Guess I better find out what Heroic spirit he is, so I ask him:
“Hello there. May I ask your name?”
Upon hearing my question, the servant finally realizes there are other people in the room and responds with:
“I am called Sindbad.”
After briefly saying this, Sindbad looks at a far corner of the room as if lost in thought. I’m not entirely sure why he looks so puzzled. He’s a servant so he should be clearly aware of what’s going on.
Anyways, he said he was called Sindbad. If I recall correctly, the legend Sindbad the Sailor come from the book The Arabian Nights. In his tale, Sindbad is a merchant who embarks on seven voyages and each time he ends up in some perilous situation. But, he always overcomes them and gains more treasure than he left with. His stories about his voyages were quite fascinating.
Anyways, since he was known for his voyages, he must be a Rider. Better make sure. So, I ask Sindbad:
“So, you’re Sindbad the Sailor. That must mean you’re of the Rider class, right?”
He responds with:
“No. I’m a Caster.”
Caster? That doesn’t make sense. Sindbad never did anything that would qualify him as a Caster. Better ask for more details:
“You’re a Caster? But you’re most know for your seven voyages. So, you should be a Rider, right?”
Upon hearing this, Sindbad looks at me with a confused look on his face and says:
“Voyages? What voyages. I never went out to sea at any point in my life.”
Wait……What? Now I’m the one who is confused. Sindbad the Sailor isn’t a sailor!
As I’m trying to figure things out, Sindbad looks as if he realized something and says:
“Ah, you must have been referring to the stories I made up. I must say I was quite the storyteller in life. But enough about that, why am I here? I shouldn’t be able to be summoned as servant. After all, I was just a normal person in life.”
That’s what I want to know! Sindbad was nothing but a middle-aged man who told exaggerated stories about adventures he never had!
I look at my instructor and ask what’s going on and he replies with:
“Nothing unheard of has occurred. Heroic Spirits are known by the legends that they come from. Sindbad’s legend only has him telling the tales of his voyages, so the fact that they are made up should not surprise you. In any case, we’ve spent enough time here. It’s time for classes.”
My instructor quickly makes for the exit after finish speaking. I shout out to him, but to no avail:
“Wait! That doesn’t solve anything! What am I supposed to do with a Heroic Spirit whose great feats in life were made up!”
Authors Notes:
Sindbad was known for his exciting voyages. In these seven voyages, he always wound up in strange situation but always came out on top. So, I thought it would be fun to have those voyages be nothing more than his made-up tales and the he was nothing more than a regular guy. That’s about the only thing I changed from the original tale. Also, I thought I would try to portray Sindbad’s curiosity since that seemed to be prevalent in his tales. That’s why he seems so confused after being summoned and wanders around examining everything.
Bibliography. "The Voyages of Sindbad" from The Arabian Nights. Web Source.
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